NHTSA Search Results

National Driver Education Standards Project - This document represents a collaborative process by public, private professional, parental, government, nonprofit, and research organizations to identify and develop standards for an ideal State driver education and training program.

The national assessment is an exciting time for a state’s driver education program. It provides a chance to evaluate performance measures and objectives against the national standards proposed by the Stakeholder’s group..

2013. This research examined the effectiveness of four types of training techniques designed to improve the driving performance of normally aging adults, suitable for a broad cross-section of the healthy older driver population.The research team measured training effectiveness by
comparing the on-road performance of drivers 65 and older in each treatment group with that of a control group before and immediately
after training, and again after a 3-month delay. Thus, study results reflected planned comparisons between each treatment group and the control group

This literature review focuses on visual scanning ability and evaluations of training in visual scanning skills for older adults, updating a previous review of studies published from 1997 to 2008 describing age-related functional changes (Staplin, Lococo, Martell, & Stutts, 2012). Researchers searched for literature published from 2005 to 2016 and found 27 relevant studies in four broad categories, visual attention and visual scanning ability; visual scanning behavior; visual search and scanning abilities; and visual scanning abilities in a non-driving context. An annotated bibliography in the Appendix provides more detail on the subset of 16 studies performed in a driving context or that used driving performance as an outcome measure.

From 2010. Evidence in the field and on driving simulators suggests that when conducting secondary in-vehicle tasks, teen drivers are much more likely to glance inside the vehicle for long periods of time than are more experienced drivers. Such periods of distraction appear highly related to crashes and near crashes for drivers of all ages, but especially for teen drivers. Simply training drivers never to glance inside the vehicle, however, could be unsafe since glances at gauges and mirrors might actually serve to decrease crash risk. Also, given the large number of distractions in modern vehicles (e.g., radio/entertainment systems, cellular phones), it would be naive to think that drivers would voluntarily ignore the temptation to look away from the forward roadway while they are driving. This suggests the need for a training program that emphasizes the importance of minimizing distractions but also helps drivers learn to distribute the time that they do spend on in-vehicle tasks into more frequent and shorter glances instead of several long glances. Two studies are described here that document the development and evaluation of such a training program.

From 2011. Research indicates that when completing in-vehicle tasks such as looking at a road map, teen drivers are much more likely than are experienced drivers to look away from the road for long periods.

Previous research suggests newly licensed teen drivers often fail to anticipate where unexpected hazards might materialize. One training program designed to address these apparent deficiencies in knowledge and skills that has shown promise in previous tests is the Risk Awareness and Perception Training (RAPT) program. This project updated RAPT using high definition video and computer simulations to create a more interactive and realistic program. Researchers evaluated the modified program’s impact on the behaviors of novice and experienced drivers through the use of a computer-based test and during on-road drives in live traffic on a pre-defined route. Both the novice and experienced driver RAPT-trained groups showed substantial improvement in performance from pre- to post-test with the RAPT trainees hitting almost all of the targets during the computer post-test. The performance differences extended to the eye-tracker data arising from the on-road drives. The RAPT-trained groups hit significantly higher numbers of total primary targets and percentages of targets compared to the control groups. The study also employed a “Think Aloud,” or commentary driving, data collection effort. This data collection approach did not reveal any performance differences among the training groups. This study also included a persistence measure using the computer assessment one month after training. Results showed the RAPT-trained groups’ target hit rates decreased from the initial post-test to the persistence measure but remained above their baseline hit rates and above the control groups’ persistence measure hit rates. Taken together, the results suggest the RAPT revision represented a significant improvement over the previous versions in terms of realism with a similar impact on driver behaviors as measured by a computer assessment and through the use of eye-tracking in a live traffic environment.

Pedestrian safety and the development of effective strategies for enforcement activities are becoming a priority in many places around the country. To aid law enforcement in developing their strategies, NHTSA recently released a Pedestrian Safety Training for Law Enforcement Interactive Training and Resource Guide.

From 2008. This final rule upgrades the school bus passenger crash protection requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 222. This final rule requires new school buses of 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) or less gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) (“small school buses”) to have lap/shoulder belts in lieu of the lap belts currently required. This final rule also sets performance standards for seat belts voluntarily installed on school buses with a GVWR greater than 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) (“large school buses”). Each State or local jurisdiction may decide whether to install seat belts on these large school buses. Other changes to school bus safety requirements include raising the height of seat backs from 508 mm (20 inches) to 610 mm (24 inches) on all new school buses and requiring a self-latching mechanism on seat bottom cushions that are designed to flip up or be removable without tools.

If you are an older driver or a caregiver, NHTSA encourages you to talk about driving safety. We offer material to help you understand how aging can affect driving and what you can do to continue driving safely as you age, such as adapting a vehicle to meet specific needs.

From 2012. The first six months of unsupervised driving are the most hazardous in a novice driver’s driving experience. Most States adopted graduated driver licensing (GDL) systems to give novice drivers experience in a protective environment, gradually introducing them to riskier driving conditions as they gain experience.

This report examines the hypothesis that a later high school start time may reduce crash rates by reducing the interference of school start time with the sleep needs of adolescents. There is substantial evidence that lack of sleep is a significant factor in motor vehicle crashes experienced by teenage drivers - December 2015

Sleep health has become an increasingly important and studied topic in the last decade. So much so that a number of school districts across the United States have explored changing, or have already changed their high-school start times to a later hour in order to improve academic performance

From 2008. This final rule upgrades the school bus passenger crash protection requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 222. This final rule requires new school buses of 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) or less gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) (“small school buses”) to have lap/shoulder belts in lieu of the lap belts currently required. This final rule also sets performance standards for seat belts voluntarily installed on school buses with a GVWR greater than 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) (“large school buses”). Each State or local jurisdiction may decide whether to install seat belts on these large school buses. Other changes to school bus safety requirements include raising the height of seat backs from 508 mm (20 inches) to 610mm (24 inches) on all new school buses and requiring a self-latching mechanism on seat bottom cushions that are designed to flip up or be removable without tools.

From 2007. NHTSA issued a report in 2002 on the results of a comprehensive school bus research program examining ways of further improving school bus safety. Based on that research, we are now proposing several upgrades to the school bus passenger crash protection requirements.

From 2008. This final rule upgrades the school bus passenger crash protection requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 222. This final rule requires new school buses of 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) or less gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) (“small school buses”) to have lap/shoulder belts in lieu of the lap belts currently required. This final rule also sets performance standards for seat belts voluntarily installed on school buses with a GVWR greater than 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) (“large school buses”). Each State or local jurisdiction may decide whether to install seat belts on these large school buses. Other changes to school bus safety requirements include raising the height of seat backs from 508 mm (20 inches) to 610 mm (24 inches) on all new school buses and requiring a self-latching mechanism on seat bottom cushions that are designed to flip up or be removable without tools.

When Super Bowl LII kicks off, will you be prepared for party victory? Whether you’re the home team or a visitor, every Super Bowl LII party game plan must start with a shutdown defense that prevents drunk driving.